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The Witches (Italian: Le streghe) is a 1967 comedy anthology film produced by Dino De Laurentiis in 1965. It consists of 5 short stories, directed by Luchino Visconti, Franco Rossi, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Mauro Bolognini and Vittorio De Sica. Each story is about witches and features Silvana Mangano.
The Witches (Le Streghe) | |
---|---|
Italian film poster | |
Directed by | Luchino Visconti Mauro Bolognini Pier Paolo Pasolini Franco Rossi Vittorio De Sica |
Produced by | Dino De Laurentiis |
Screenplay by | Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Cesare Zavattini Age & Scarpelli Bernardino Zapponi Pier Paolo Pasolini Fabio Carpi Enzo Muzzi |
Starring | Silvana Mangano Clint Eastwood Annie Girardot Totò Alberto Sordi |
Music by | Piero Piccioni Ennio Morricone |
Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
Edited by | Mario Serandrei Nino Baragli Giorgio Serralonga Adriana Novelli |
Production company | Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Les Productions Artistes Associés |
Distributed by | Dear Film (Italy) Lopert Pictures Corporation (US) United Artists (International) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | Italy France |
Language | Italian |
This is one of De Laurentiis' more eclectic films. Clint Eastwood also makes an appearance in the final story.
Screenplay
"The Witch Burned Alive"
A famous actress arrives in an Austrian chalet to spend an evening with friends. The woman is gotten drunk by the guests, and when she falls unconscious, friends remove her makeup to look at the imperfections of her face, always believed beautiful by her fans.
"Civic Sense"
A man is wounded in a traffic accident. A woman stops the car and offers to take him to the hospital. The woman, however, only does this to pass the road traffic. When she arrives at her destination, she throws him out.
"The Earth Seen from the Moon"
This comic episode, directed by Pasolini, tells the story of a red-headed father and son, Ciancicato and Baciu Miao (Totò and Ninetto Davoli). Ciancicato has just lost his wife and wants to marry a new wife. Ciancicato finds a deaf girl among the shacks on the outskirts of Rome and makes her his bride. To buy a better house nearby, he concocts a plan for her to threaten to commit suicide (distraught by her sick children) by jumping from the Coliseum, and take a collection to save her, but she slips on a banana peel and falls, and is buried next to his former wife.
"The Girl from Sicily"
In this short episode, a Sicilian woman tells her father a man made a pass at her; he retaliates by massacring the family.
"An Evening Like the Others"
Clint Eastwood is a western movie lover who does not know how to change the flat relationship with his wife. One day Eastwood disguises himself as a gunslinger to entertain his wife, but she is not impressed and he realizes that their relationship is broken forever. In the final scene, she imagines herself as a glamorous star, walking along in an evolving series of haute couture while being ogled by a growing crowd of middle aged businessmen. She lastly dons a magnificent gown made of multiple layers of silk, each in a vibrant shade, which she peels away layer by layer.
Director | Italian title | English title |
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Luchino Visconti | "La strega bruciata viva" | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Mauro Bolognini | "Senso civico" | "Civic Sense" |
Pier Paolo Pasolini | "La Terra vista dalla Luna" | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Franco Rossi | "La siciliana" | "The Girl from Sicily" |
Vittorio De Sica | "Una serata come le altre" | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Actor | Portrayed | Episode(s) |
---|---|---|
Silvana Mangano | Gloria Lady Assurda Cai Nunzia Giovanna |
"The Witch Burned Alive" "Civic Sense" "The Earth Seen from the Moon" "The Girl from Sicily" "An Evening Like the Others" |
Annie Girardot | Valeria | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Francisco Rabal | Valerie's Husband | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Massimo Girotti | Sportsman | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Elsa Albani | Gossip | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Alberto Sordi | "Truck Driver | "Civic Sense" |
Totò | Ciancicato Miao | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Angelo Santi | Gordon | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Piero Torrisi | Batman | "Civic Sense" |
Luigi Leoni | Her Husband | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Marilù Tolo | Waitress | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Pietro Tordi | Father | "The Girl from Sicily" |
Véronique Vendell | Young girlfriend | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Clint Eastwood | Carlone (Charlie in English dub) | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Dino Mele | Waiter | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Franco Moruzzi | Sadik | "Civic Sense" |
Helmut Berger | Waiter | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Laura Betti | A tourist | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Armando Bottin | "Nembo Kid" | "Civic Sense" |
Clara Calamai | Ex-actress | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Ninetto Davoli | Baciù Miao | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Leslie French | Industrialist | "The Witch Burned Alive" |
Gianni Gori | Diabolik | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Paolo Gozlino | Mandrake | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Valentino Macchi | Man in stadium | "An Evening Like the Others" |
Screenwriters
Screenwriter | Episode |
---|---|
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi Cesare Zavattini |
"The Witch Burned Alive" |
Age & Scarpelli Bernardino Zapponi |
"Civic Sense" |
Pier Paolo Pasolini | "The Earth Seen from the Moon" |
Age & Scarpelli Bernardino Zapponi |
"The Girl from Sicily" |
Cesare Zavattini Fabio Carpi Enzo Muzii |
"An Evening Like the Others" |
Other
Ennio Morricone Piero Piccioni |
Composers (Music score) |
Giuseppe Rotunno | Cinematographer |
Alfredo de Laurentiis | Executive producer |
Mario Garbuglia Piero Poletto |
Art directors |
Piero Tosi | Costume designer |
Adriana Novelli Giorgio Serralonga Mario Serandrei Nino Baragli |
Editors |
Renzo Marignano | First assistant director |
Goffredo Rocchetti | Makeup |
Le streghe was never released outside of Europe as United Artists bought the film when Clint Eastwood's career began to take off. United Artists decided not to release it in theaters but instead kept it in their library vault to prevent its viewing.